Clothes drier



Aug. 7, 1934. s HAMMER 1,969,510

CLOTHES DRIER Filed DSG.4 l5. 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Image! fammer /l/M/o ATTORNEY Aug. 7, 1934. s. HAMMER CLOTHES DRIER Filed Deo. 15. 195i 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Aug. 7, 1934 UNITED STATES CLOTHES DRIER,

Samuel Hammer, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to United Metal Box Co Inc., Brooklyn, N. Y., a

corporation of New York v i Application December 15, 1931, Serial No. 581,200

12 Claims.

This invention relates to clothes driers and has for its primary object and purpose to provide a drier of this kind particularly designed for installation in apartment houses for use by the individual tenants Where conservation of space occupied by such household accessories is of prime consideration. It is a more particular object of the invention to provide a clothes drier of large capacity, and which may be permanently mounted upon the building wall, and is of such construction that when the device is not in use, all parts thereof are compactly housed Within an enclosing casing of comparatively small dimensions, which will not obtrusively protrude from the face of the wall.

More particularly, in a practical embodiment ofv my invention, I provide a carriage and means Y for mounting the same upon the wall structure for vertical travelling movement, together with clothes supporting means pivotally mounted on said carriage and extending in right angular relation thereto Whenin operative position, and means for retaining said carriage and clothes supporting means at the upper limit of its travel adjacent to the ceiling of the room, the said clothes supporting means, when the device is not in use, being foldable upwardly when the carriage is in its lowered position into compact parallel relation to the carriage.

An additional object of the invention is to provide easily operable means -for raising or elevating the travelling carriage, together with an emergency latching device controlled thereby,

' for automatically checking or stopping the descent of the carriage.

An additional object of the invention resides in the provision of a sheet metal case for the travelling carriage, and the clothes supporting means having a door or closure, and means for mounting the carriage therein for substantially frictionless travelling movement.

It is also a further general object of the invention to provide a clothes drier of the above character, the several parts of which are of relatively simple form, and may be fabricated and assembled at comparatively small cost, and which will be exceedingly durable, convenient and serviceable in use and will function for the intended purpose `in a reliable and efficient manner. Y

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the improved clothes drier and in the form, construction and relative arrangement of its several parts, as will be hereinaiter more fully described, illustrated in the -ventionand in which similar reference charac-` (Cl. S12-181) ters designate corresponding the several views- Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating the general form and dimensions of the casing or cabinet within which the relatively movable parts of the clothes drier are enclosed;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation, the door of the casing being open and certain parts shown in section; v'

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 andshowing the door in broken lines in closed position;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken on theline 4 4 of Fig. 2

Fig. 5 is a similar sectional view line 5 5 of Fig. 2; 'l

Fig. 6 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 5 showing the clothes supporting vmeans extended to its operative position with relation to the travelling carriage; I

Fig. 7 is a detail vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 7--7 of'Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional View showing the travelling carriage latched in its elevated position.

Fig. 9 is a detail vertical section taken on the line 9--9 of Fig. 2 illustrating the emergency4 latch device; l

Fig. 10 is a detail front elevation illustrating a modified form of the means for yieldingly sustaining the'clothes supporting means in a folded position on the carriage, and for limiting movement of said means to its horizontal extended position; l,

Fig. 11 is a sectional view as indicated by the line 11-11 in Fig. 10; and

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional View showing a modified formof theenclosing casing for the clothes drier adapted to be mounted in a mortise or recess vin the wall face.

Referring in detail to the drawings, in one embodiment of my inventiom may pro-vide an enclosing cabinet or casing for the several parts of the drier which includes a body 5 of elongated rectangular form and of comparatively shallow depth, said body including the backy wall 6, top and bottom Walls 7 and 8 respectively and the parts 'throughoutl taken on the marginal side walls 9. Each of the latter 'maropening movement. Adjacent its lower end and' near its free vertical edge, the door is provided at the outer side thereof with a suitable knob or hand grasp 14, whereby it may be conveniently moved to its open position against the action of the latch 13 and disposed at oneside of the casing body as indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawings. By means of brackets or other suitable attaching elements, carried by the back wall 6 of the cabinet or casing, the said casing may be conveniently mounted upon thejface of the building wall. This casing Viorzthe `drier is of such length that when mounted in position on the wall structure, its lower end will be approximately about four and one-half feet above the floor and its upper end will be disposed closely adjacent to the ceiling of the room.

Within thejbody 5 of the casing or cabinet, the carriage is mounted for vertical travelling movement; Preferably this carriage consists oi a sheet metal plate 15 formed at its opposite side edges with the angularly disposed anges 16. Uponthe upper and lower ends of each of these Aflanges and at the outer side thereof, the anti-friction discs or rollersl 17 are mounted for travelling contact respectively with the inner surfaces of the flanges 10 and with the surface of the rear wal1k6 of the casing. Additional anti-friction rollers 18 are mounted upon the carriage plate 15 adjacentto the rollers 17 for rotation about axes disposed at right angles to the axes of the latter rollers. These rollers 18 project outwardly through slots provided in the flanges 16 andhave rolling contact upon the marginal side walls 9 of the casing. Thus, the carriage may freely move vertically and substantially without frictional resistance.

The carriageplate 15` at its lower end and adjacent opposite sides thereof is provided with the outwardlystruck lugs 19. The clothes supporting rack includes a pair of plates 20 and 21 respectively, the plate 20 preferably being of substantially U-shaped form to provide the recess or opening indicated at 22 for a purpose which will later become apparent. lThese plates 20 and 21 are disposed in parallel relation to each other and at their opposite side edges are provided with the Vreversely projecting longitudinally extending` anges 23 and 24 respectively. The lugs 19 extend between these flanges at one of their ends, said lugs being apertured to receive the pins or rivets 25 connecting the flanges 23 and 24, whereby the plates y20 and 21 are supported upon the carriage plate 15 for unitary pivotal movement.

A plurality of clothes supporting arms 26 at one of their ends are disposed between the other ends of the plates 20A and 21 and pivotally connected therewith by means of the pins or rivets 27,.whereby the arms. 26 may be relatively kadjusted laterally into suitable spaced apart relation to receive and support the various articles to be dried, as indicated in Fig. 6 of the drawings.

Y' Thevcarriage plate 15 at its upper end and near each side thereof is provided with the additional outwardly struck lugs 28 in which studs 29 are suitably xed at one of their ends. To the other ends of these studs, the links, 30 are pivotally attached at one end, each oi said links being provided with a longitudinal slot 31 receiving the headed stud 32 fixed in one of the side flanges 24 ofthe plate 21. Thus it will be understood that these links limit the-outward and downward swinging movementof the clothes supporting means or rack to a horizontal position substantially rightangular relation to the plane of the carriage plate 15. Suitable springs such as those indicated at 33 act upon the links 30 to yieldingly urge the same inwardly and retain said links, the plates 20 and 2l and the clothes supporting arms 26 in substantially per'- ypendicular parallel relation to the carriage plate l5 and in closely adjacent relation to the outer surface of said plate, as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings.

For the purpose of' raising or elevating the carriage and the clothes supporting rack to the upper end of the cabinet or casing, I provide the rope or other ilexible element indicated at 34,k This flexible operating element extends upwardly through the guiding collar or gromniet 35 suitably ixed to thelower end wall 8 jof the casing body 5 and extends around a suit-j able guide 36 in the upper end o1" the casingat` one side thereof, and then downwardly. and around a similar guide 37 mounted on thel carriage plate 15, kand then upwardly from kthe latter guide around a second guide 38 mounted in the upper end of the casing in spaced relation with the guide 36, and then downwardly from the guide`38 and has its end suitably attached to one end of a lever 39 which is pivoted intermediate of its endsas at 41 upon the lug 4Q struck outwardly from the carriage plate 15. The other or lower end of this lever is formed with a latching finger 42 which is yeldingly urged rearwardly through an opening `43 in the carriage platey 15 by means of the spring 44. The lpurpose of this lever connection between the carriage and the operating element 34 will presently be more fully disclosed.

Preferably, though not necessarily, the guides 36, 37 and 38 are in the form of grooved pulleys, each of the guides 36 and 38 being rotatably mounted upon a transverse axis 45 and 46 respectively, one end of which is xed in the back or rear wall 6 of the casing, while the other end thereof is'xed in the iront wallof ,the housing members 47 and 48 respectively. Each of these housing members may conveniently consist of a very simple sheet metal stamping, which includes the body wall extending over a part oi the outer side of the guide pulley and having a marginal ilange such as that indicated at 49, which serves as a guide for directing the rope or flexible element 34 in its application to the grooved pulley, and also eifeotually prevents the rope from becoming accidentally disengaged from the pulley groove in the operation of the device. The flange 49 of each housing member isV provided with laterally projecting lugs or othervsuitable means whereby the housing may be riveted or otherwise securely fixed in its applied positionl with respect to the wall of the casing. As herein shown, for convenience in assemblage, I may rst rivet these pulley housings upon the opposite ends ofk a connecting metal strip indicated at 50, said metal strip in turn being iixed to the rear or back wall 6 of theca'sing body by means of the pulley shafts or axes 45 and 46, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings v The guide pulley 37 on the carriage l5 is similarly mounted upon the axis 51 within the housing 5,2. This housing is generally of, the same form as the housings 47 and 48, but in reversed relation to the latter. As will be evident from reference to Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawings, wherein the clothes supporting rack is in its perpendicular folded position with` respect to the carriage, the pulley 37 and itsv housing 52 are accommodated within the recess or opening 22 of the plate 20.

For the purpose of retaining the carriage with the clothes rack in its extended operative position in raised or elevated relation to the casing near the upper end thereof, I provide the vertically disposed latch rod 53 mounted in suitable apertured lugs 54 struck from the back or rear wall 6 of the casing body. This rod at its upper end is formed with the angularly disposed arm 55 terminating in the outwardly projecting lug 56. The lower end of said rod is also formed with an arm 57 extending in an opposite direction from the arm 55 on the upper end thereof and normally yieldingly held in close relation to the surface of .the casing wall 6 by means of the spring 58.

The carriage plate 15 at its upper end and at the approximate center thereof is formed with a vertically extending outwardly angled cam portion 59 and below and in line with this cam portion, said carriage plate is provided with the opening 60 therein, preferably though not necessarily of rectangular shape or form. It will therefore be understood that when the flexible element 34 is pulled downwardly and outwardly from the lower end of the casing to raise the carriage and the horizontally projecting clothes supporting means, as the same approaches the 30Y limit of its upward movement, the cam 59 presses against the lug 56 on the upper end of latch rod 53 and forces the-same backwardly against the action of spring 58. Therefore, when the carriage reaches `the limit of its upward movement, at which time the opening 60 comes into registration with lug 56, said lug will be projected outwardly through said opening by the action of spring 58, as shown in Fig. 8 of the drawings and by contact with the upper edge of the opening will thus sustain or hold the carriage and the clothes supporting means in elevated position and adjacent to the ceiling of the room. In order to release the carriage for its gravity descent within the casing, a slight pull is first exerted upon the flexible element 34 to relieve the stud 56 of pressure by the carriage plate 15, and the lower arm 57 of the latch rod is then engaged with the finger and moved outwardly from the rear wall of the case, Ithus withdrawing lug 56 from opening 60, so that the carriage may move downwardly within the casing.

I also provide emergency latch means which will operate in the event that the operator loses control of the descending movement of the carriage by releasing the strain on the rope or flexible element 34. In such case, the spring 44 acting upon the lower end of lever 39 forces the latching finger 42 on the lower end of said lever rearwardly into the path of one of the vertically spaced stop projections 61 on the back or rear wall 6 of the casing. Preferably I provide these stops by horizontally slitting the casing wall 6 adjacent to one of its side walls 9 at a plurality of spaced points andi then punching the metal adjacent to each slit forwardly or outwardly from the plane of said casing wall, as is clearly shown in Fig. 9 of the drawings.

The lower end wall 8 of the casing is provided at its forward edge with the upstanding flange 62, upon the outer side of which and at each or^ its ends a button 63 of suitable form is mounted and upon which the part of the rope or flexible element 34 extending exteriorly of the casing when the carriage and the clothes supporting means is in elevated position, may be conveniently wound. The external end of the rope 34 may be provided with a convenient form of hand grasp, as indicated at 64 which, when the carriage is in its lowermost position with respect to the casing, will be disposed closely adjacent to the bottom wall 8 of the casing, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2.

In Figs. 10 and 11 of the drawings, I have shown a somewhat modified form of the means for limiting downward swinging movement of the -clothes supporting rack on the carriage and for yieldingly retaining said rack in folded parallel relation to the carriage and within the casing. As therein shown, the links 30' which are pivotally mounted at one end in the manner above explained, and also provided with longitudinally extending slots 31 receiving the studs 32 are not yieldingly held by the springs 33, but the studs 32 are of such form as to permit of an appreciable lateral movement of the link elements relative to the clothes supporting rack, such movement being incident to the inherent resiliency of the metal links, and occurring by reasonA of the camming action of the conical heads 25' on the rivets which pivotally connect the rack with the carriage plate. when the clothes rack is in its vertical positionjthese conical rivet heads extend through the lower ends of the slots 31 in the links, and oier suiicient resistance to movement of the links from their vertical positions to prevent the accidental outward swinging movement of the clothes rack on the carriage plate. However, when it is desired to move this rack to operative position, and it is manually swung outwardly and downwardly from the carriage, the studs 32 acting against the links, cause the lower slotted portions of said links to be laterally deiiected by the conical surfaces of the rivet heads 25 and thereby ride over said rivet heads and become disengaged therefrom, the link slots limiting the movement of the clothes rack to horizontal position by engagement of the studs 32 with the lower ends thereof, as in the previously described construction. When the rack is returned from the horizontal to the vertical position on the carriage, the slotted ends of the links are again brought into contact with the conical rivet heads 25 and ride over the same, until said rivet heads snap into the slots of the links as the latter resume their normal positions relative to the clothes rack.

In Fig. 12 of the drawings, I have illustrated a somewhat different form of the cabinet or case for the clothes drier designed for the purpose of further limiting the projection of the parts of the case from the face of the wall structure by mounting the body of the case within the recess or mortise R, which is iirst formed in the face of the wall., In this case,l the marginal iianges 9' have either integrally formed therewith or suitably secured thereto, a frame 9a which surrounds the open side of the cabinet body, and eiiectually4 conceals the mortise or recess R. Thus, when the 4door 11 is As shown in Fig. 10 of the drawings,

in its closed position, its outer surface will be flush with the outer surface of this marginal frame on the cabinet body, and the extent of projection from the face of the'wall is thereby v of the door structure. However, it will be apparent that owing to the very compactmounting and arrangement of the vcarriage with the clothessupporting rack, in the first described construction I may use an exceedingly shallow casing or cabinet body, so that the device may be readily mounted. on the wall face without recessing the same, and when the door is latched in closed position, will not constitute an obtrusive vprojection into the room. This, of course, is of primary importance in the development of a device of this kind for apartment house use, in which the available space for clothes driers of this type is limited to such an extent that in many cases the use of the various constructions heretofore suggested will be precluded.

In the operation of my improved clothes drier above described, it will of course be readily understood that since the weight of the rack for supporting the clothes is directly imposed upon the traveling carriage at its lower end and below the pulley axis 5l, the lower anti-frictionrollers 17 Will thereby be forced rearwardly into rolling contact with the back wall 6 of the casing body, While the upper anti-friction roller 17 will be similarly forced into bearing contact upon the inner surfaces of the flanges 10 on the side walls ofthe casing. The anti-friction rollers 1 8 engaging the side Walls 9 of the. casing prevent any lateral shifting movement of the carriage 'relative to the casing. Thus, by means of these anti-friction rollers, the vertical travelling movement of the carriage and particularly the upward movement of the same with theclothes carried by the horizontally projecting rack will not be impeded by frictional resistance so that little manual exertion will be required. After the rack with the clothes thereon has been latched in its lelevated position adjacent the ceiling in the manner above explained, the suspended articles on the rack arms are entirely out of the way. While these arms 26 of the rack may be readily adjusted laterally relative to each other, there is nevertheless sufficient frictional resistance by the pivots 2'? to prevent casual swinging movement of the arms, so that the articles suspended from the respective arms have nov contact with each other. In lowering the carriage and the clothes rack after the articles have dried, it is only necessary to retain sufiicient strain on the rope or fiexibie element 34 to hold thelower end of latch lever 39 out of engagement with the stop projections 6l, the carriage moving downwardly freely by gravity to its Vlowermost position Withinthe casing. However, instantly upon the release of such strain, the carriage will be latched against further gravitymovement, thusv avoiding possible injury to the operator in either raising or lowering the carriage, and also possible damage to the carriage or other parts ofthe device.

rFrom the above description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction. manner cf operation .and several advantages'of my invention will be clearly understood.y It will be seen that I have provided a clothes drier of a very practical construction and which is admirably adapted for apartment house use, thoughof course not necessarily limited thereto. The various parts of the device as above described may be fabricated by simple mechanicalv operations and at relatively small cost'. Such devices may therefore be provided in the erection of a 'building in vthe kitchen or laundry and without materially adding Ito the building o0St. I- have herein sho-wn and described several kforms ofthe enclosing cabinet or vcasing for the .movable parts of the device, but vit is to be understood that the cabinet or casing structure, as Well as the mechanical parts of the drier, itselare susceptible of embodiment in Various other alternative structural forms in so far as the essential features of my invention are concerned. It is therefore to be understood that in practice I reserve the privilege of resorting to all such legitimate changes in the form, construction and relative arrangement of the various elements as may be fairly considered within the spiritand scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

l. In a clothes drier, a carriage, means for mounting said carriage upon a supporting structurev for vertical travelling movement, clothes supporting means pivotally mounted on the carriage for swinging movement to a horizontal operative position and into closely juxtapjosed parallel relation to the carriage, andmeans .for yieldingly retaining said clothes supporting means in the latter position, including relatively movable parts cooperating to limit the movement of the clothes supporting means to its horizontal position, and additional means yieldably coacting with one of said parts to resist movement of the supportingmeans to the latter position.

2. In a `clothes drier, a carriage, means for mounting said carriage upon a supporting structure for vertical travelling movement, clothes supporting means pivotally mounted on the carriage for swinging movement to a horizontal operative position and into closely juxtaposed parallel relation to the carriage, links connecting the clothes supporting means with the carriage and limiting the movement of said means to its horizontal position, andspring means coasting with said links to Ayieldingly retain the clothes supporting vmeans in vertical parallel relation with the carriage.

3. In a clothes drier, a carriage, means for mounting said carriage upon a supporting structure for vertical travelling movement, clothes supporting means mounted on the carriage, the said carriage moving by gravity to a normal lower position on the supporting structure, means for checking the gravity movement of the carriage, and manually' operable means for elevating the carriage upon the supporting structure connected with a part of said last named means and controlling the effective operation thereof.

4l. In a clothes drier, a carriage, means for mounting said carriage upon a supporting structure for vertical travelling movement, clothes supporting means mounted on the carriage, said carriage moving by gravity to a lowernormal position on the supporting means, means for checking. the gravity descent. of the carriage, including a lever fulcrumed on the carriage intermediate of its `ends and relatively stationary means with which one end of saidlever is adapted to coact, and a manually operable element movably connected with the carriage for elevating the same upon the supporting structure, said element being operatively connected to the other end of said lever to control the effective coaction of said lever with said stationary means.

5. In a clothes drier, a casing, a carriage mounted for .vertical travelling vmovement in said casing, clothes supporting means pivotally mounted on the carriage for swinging movement to a horizontal operative position or to closely parallel relation with said carriage, and a ilexible operating element movable around spaced guides in the upper end of the casing and around a guide on said carriage, having one end thereof extending downwardly through the bottom of the casing at one side of said supporting means and its other end connected with the carriage for elevating the latter and the clothes supporting means to the upper end of said casing.

6. In a clothes drier, a casing, a carriage mounted for vertical travelling movement in said casing, clothes supporting means pivotally mounted on the carriage for swinging movement to a horizontal operative position or to closely parallel relation with said carriage, a flexible operating element movable around spaced guides in the upper end o the casing and around a guide on said carriage, having one end thereof c'onnected with the carriage for elevating the latter and the clothes supporting means to the upper end o said casing, and manually operable latch means mounted on the rear Wall of the casing, automatically coacting with means on the carriage to sustain the latter in its elevated position.

7. In a clothes drier, a casing, a carriage mounted for vertical travelling movement in said casing, clothes supporting means pivotally mounted on the carriage for swinging movement to a horizontal operative position or to closely parallel relation with said carriage, a flexible operating element movable around spaced guides in the upper end of the casing and around a guide on said carriage, having one end thereof connected with the carriage for elevating the latter and the clothes supporting means to the upper end of said casing, manually operable latch means mounted on the rear wall of the casing, automatically coacting with means on the carriage to sustain the latter in its elevated position, and rotatable anti-friction means mounted on the carriage above and below the pivotal axis of said clothes supporting means and preventing contact between the travelling carriage with the casing structure.

8. In a clothes drier, a casing, a carriage mounted for vertical travelling movement in said casing, clothes supporting means pivotally mounted on the carriage for swinging movement to a horizontal operative position or to closely parallel relation with said carriage, a flexible operating element movable around spaced guides in the upper end of the casing and around a guide on said carriage, having one end thereof connected with the carriage for elevating the latter and the clothes supporting means to the upper end of said casing, manually operable latch means mounted on the rear wall of the casing, automatically coacting with means on the carriage to sustain the latter in its elevated position, and pairs of anti-friction rollers mounted on opposite sides of the carriage respectively above and below the pivotal axis of the clothes supporting means, the rollers in each pair having their axes disposed at right angles to each other and engaging parts of the casing structure to prevent frictional contact of the carriage therewith.

9. In a clothes drier, a casing, a carriage mounted for vertical travelling movement in said casing, clothes supporting means pivotally mounted on the carriage for swinging movement to a horizontal operative position or to closely parallel relation with said carriage, a flexible operating element movable around spaced guides in the upper end of the casing and around a guide on said carriage, having one end thereof connected with the carriage for elevating the latter and the clothes supporting means to the upper end of said casing, manually operable latch means mounted on the rear wall of the casing, and cam means on the carriage coacting with the latch means as the carriage approaches the limit of its upward movement to position the latch means for eiective engagement with a part of the carriage, whereby the latter is sustained in its elevated position.

l0. In combination a casing, a pair of guideways therein, a carriage vertically slidable in the said guideways, the said carriage comprising a plate, a pair of horizontally spaced apart extensions thereon, rollers on the said plate in operative engagement with the guideways, a clothes drying rack pivotally supported on the said extensions to permit the said rack to be folded into the casing, means for raising and lowering the said carriage and rack, the said means comprising a pulley secured to the carriage, a pair of spaced apart pulleys at the top of the casing and a rope in operative engagement with the said pulleys, a spring pressed rod turnably mounted in the casing, a bent portion at the upper end of the said rod forming a support for the carriage and rack when in upper position, and a cam on the said carriage to swing the bent portion of the rod out of the path of the carriage just prior to the completion of the upward movement of the carriage and rack.

li. In combination, a casing having a pair of guideways therein, a vertically movable carriage, rollers on'the carriage engaged in the guideways, a clothes drying rack pivotally supported on the carriage and foldable into the casing, means for raising and lowering the carriage and rack comprising a pulley mounted on the carriage, a pair of spaced apart pulleys at the top of the casing, and a rope connected to the carriage and in operative engagement with the pulleys, a spring pressed rod movably mounted in the casing and having a part at one of its ends forming a support for the carriage and rack when in upper position, and means on the carriage to coact with the rod and move said part out of the path of the carriage just prior to the completion of the upward movement of the carriage and rack.

12. In combination, a casing, a drying rack mounted for vertical traveling movement on the casing and for movement into and out of the casing, manually operable means for elevating the rack to position the same at the upper end of the casing, and means for latching the rack in such elevated position against downward gravity movement, comprising a vertically disposed spring pressed member rotatably mounted on the casing and having aY handle extension at the lower end and a part at the upper end thereof normally disposed in the path of movement of an element connected to the rack, and means on said element to coact with said member and move said part out of the path of said element just prior to the completion of the upward movement of the rack.

SAMUEL HAMMER. 

